Cheap Easy to Build Thickness Sander

[JPG]

Actually the drum is plow sanding. You would have no control if it was climb sanding until the workpiece emerged. I wouldn't want to try that. JPG is right about the operating position though at least for longer pieces except that the right hand feeds and the left takes over and pulls the piece out. For shorter pieces a sled or just a "push plate" that is thinner than the work can be used and the piece is pushed all the way through.

JPG, I think you are being confused by the position of the dust manifold in the sketchup. It is completely reversible. When I drew it up, I envisioned it pointing off the free end but in practice it gives more operator room pointing out over the headstock. The headstock gives the hose great support as well.

Yes, and I should have caught that myself since you did mention the reversal decision. In my defense however, those inputs were a day apart(I be forgetful at times:rolleyes:).


Damn that is slick!!!!!!! But then I should not have expected anything less!;)

[lightnin]

Simplicity & Functionality

It's a beautiful thing ....oh and cheap

[dsinsley]

I know this was posted long ago but I just came across it in a pinterest search. I absolutely love the design and the simplicity of it. Sometimes it takes a genius to invent simple solutions for the rest of us. When I say simple I only mean to build it. It took genius to design and prototype it.

My only question is (I might have missed it) but what speed are you running it at?

[shipwright]

I use various speeds. Just start slow and increase until you like how it works. It is only four inch diameter so you can go pretty fast.

[masonsailor2]

Mine is essentially Paul M’s design. My rollers are 5” aluminum 3/8 wall tubing but that was because I had access to it for free. I trued them up using the SS in lathe mode. I have had a Grizzly dual head drum sander in the past and like this version much better. For pieces 24” in length and shorter I use a sled. The sled is much quicker than even the Grizzly was because I don’t have to take the piece out with every pass. I can easily and safely draw it back through in reverse controlling it with the sled against the weight of my body which cuts sanding time considerably. I used 32 tpi all thread to make the adjusting shafts and used a pinch bolt/ o ring tensioner on the shafts to be able to stop them from rotating during sanding. I have tried several methods of clamping the paper to the drum and the best solution came out of necessity after breaking a clamp we had made using a 3D printer which is using snap ties. I use them now as my standard way of holding the paper. For a table I used melamine with saw kerfs every 1/8” to reduce the drag it also facilitated the sawdust extraction.
Paul

[charlesw]

Hi
I have been following this thread with great interest. Firstly let me say, great to see so many shopsmiths in our shops. Secondly, has anyone given some thought to using the planner? just replace the cutter bar for a sander. you would have the feed already calculated, the speed of feed and more than four inch of space. Seems like a no brainer to me. I just don't have use for the big drum sander. I use the belt sander mostly, and disk and small drum for fine work.
Any thoughts?

[BuckeyeDennis]

Hi
I have been following this thread with great interest. Firstly let me say, great to see so many shopsmiths in our shops. Secondly, has anyone given some thought to using the planner? just replace the cutter bar for a sander. you would have the feed already calculated, the speed of feed and more than four inch of space. Seems like a no brainer to me. I just don't have use for the big drum sander. I use the belt sander mostly, and disk and small drum for fine work.
Any thoughts?

Neat idea. It might work, but I can think of a few potential gotcha’s.

My Pro Planer has the steel infeed roller, and it is likely to dimple the wood too deeply for the marks to be removed with a single sanding pass. The rubber infeed rollers wouldn’t have that problem, of course.

I have a Jet 10/20 drum sander, with a 5” diameter drum spinning at 1700 RPM. My Pro Planer has a 2-1/4” diameter head spinning at 5750 RPM, so the sandpaper surface speed would be about 50% higher on that machine. Combine that speed increase with less than half of the sandpaper surface area, and I suspect that heat buildup could become an issue ... I already have to be careful to not burn cherry with my Jet sander. Of course, you could reduce the drum speed by changing drive pulleys and/or motor rpm.

My Jet sander has a feed belt that is actually a big loop of belt-sander paper. It reliably generates enough friction force to feed the workpiece against the opposing force from the sanding drum. That may or may not be the case with the planer infeed roller ... and it has to overcome the friction of the workpiece sliding on the planer table as well.

Finally, you have to wrap and retain the sandpaper on the drum/head. Which may not be problem with the Velcro-backed stuff, but I haven’t seen it done on a drum diameter that small.

So all in all, I’d say that some testing would be needed in order see how well it works.

[reible]

One major difference between sanders and planners is the spring pressure they exert. A planner has a lot of pressure and will even flatten the work piece as it passes through, this allows the thickness to be the same but it will not flatten it. On the other hand the sander has very light pressure.

If you go into a store with both on display push up/down against the springs and it will all become clear.

Another issue is that the planner is working to extract chips while the sander has very fine saw dust to deal with, my guess it that these are no where near the same conditions.

Ed

[charlesw]

You guys are a class act! Thanks for sharing, and forcing me to rethink.
What a great site, with even greater people.